One of America's most wanted fugitives may be hiding out among Mormons, the FBI has warned.

Jason Brown, who is accused of first-degree murder and armed robbery, is suspected to be taking advantage of philanthropic figures within the church, of which he was once a member.

Brown, 43, has been on the run since allegedly shooting dead an armoured truck driver in Phoenix, Arizona, in November 2004, and fleeing on a bicycle with $56,000 (£35,000) in cash.

The FBI accuses him of shooting the 24-year-old driver, Robert Palomares, five times in the head at close range with a .45-calibre handgun outside a cinema. It is offering a $100,000 (£62,000) reward for information leading to Brown's arrest.

A Glock handgun bought by Brown at a branch of Totally Awesome Guns in Utah two weeks earlier was linked to the crime by investigators, who say his fingerprints were also found on the bicycle.

Brown, a California-born extreme sports fan who speaks French fluently, earned a master's degree in international business and started two companies before allegedly turning to crime.

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Having briefly been a Mormon and served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in France, he was last seen in 2008 in Salt Lake City, Utah, where the Church is based. This has led the FBI to suspect he may still be moving among its members.

"It's a possibility, because of Jason's familiarity with the Mormon Church," Agent Manuel Johnson told ABC News. "Prior to the shooting he was involved in different types of fraud, so he's not who he claims to be, and we could see him taking advantage of people."

Lance Leising, the FBI agent leading the hunt for Brown, said the suspect was an accomplished liar who may well have talked his way into being taken in by charitable Mormons in the area.

He said the search had been frustrated by at least six lookalikes being mistaken for Brown, including one man who worked as a body double for the actor Sean Penn, whom Brown resembles.

"With the commonness of his name and how he looks, like a surfer dude in California, we've had more tips about this fugitive than any other on 'America's Most Wanted.'," Agent Leising told The Salt Lake Tribune. "It's caused us to chase leads all around the world."